


Melodies in the Night

by fienhagus77



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Falling In Love, Family, Fluff, Neighbors, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2019-09-22
Packaged: 2020-10-25 16:09:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20727017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fienhagus77/pseuds/fienhagus77
Summary: El's new neighbor has the voice of an angel, his sweet melodies filtering through the thin wall always helps put her to sleep.Will they ever meet or will he forever be the "neighbor with the sweet voice"?





	Melodies in the Night

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all! Just a sweet, little one- shot! Fluffy enough to fill a pillow!

1am was quickly becoming El’s favorite time of the night. Having to work at the hospital 4pm to midnight meant she was still always awake at 1am most nights. Until recently, the apartment next to hers was vacant. She never met who had lived there but just knowing someone was there was comforting. 

That is, until a few weeks ago when someone new moved in. She had never met the new occupant but she knew it was a guy. She didn’t mean to be nosy or eavesdrop, but one night after a long shift, she had whipped up some tea and sat on her couch that was pushed up against the wall. Out of nowhere, a sweet melody began to float through the thin walls. El instantly recognized it, the guy next door was singing nursery rhymes. And wow, he sounded  _ amazing.  _ His dulcet tones almost put her to sleep. 

As the weeks went by, El still never met this man face to face but she would always catch him singing around the same time every night. She figured he had a small child, that was soothed to sleep by his soft voice. Some nights El felt bad, was she crossing a line? Was she being too personal by listening in? But then he would start to sing again and all thoughts would leave her mind.

It wasn’t until the first weekend of October that El properly met her neighbor. She had three days off in a row, which was rare, and she actually woke up early one morning to go for a run. As she was walking up the steps to get to her door, she noticed a guy around her age struggling with some bags. He was cradling a baby carrier in one arm, bags in another arm, and he had just dropped his keys. Sighing in frustration, he went to put the bags down. 

El ran up the stairs quickly, “Hey, looks like you could use some help,” she said smiling. She took the bags from his hands and bent over to pick up his keys. He flashed her a thankful smile and El’s breath caught in her throat. This man was the epitome of beautiful. His soft hair was curling at the edges, his cheekbones were sharp and pronounced, and his eyes could captivate anyone. 

_ Get yourself together Hopper! He’s carrying a baby! He’s probably happily married! _

“Which apartment?” El asked trying to distract herself from the whirlwind of emotions taking over her mind. “I can open the door for you if you would like and drop your groceries on the counter. I swear I live here, I’m not some bum trying to steal your house.”

The man laughed, “I would love the help, I’m just a few doors down, 324.”

El froze, she was 322, which meant…this beautiful man in front of her was the same one that sang her to sleep every night at 1am. She immediately felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment but the guy didn’t seem to notice or he didn’t comment. 

“I’m Mike by the way, I’m usually not so flustered I promise, I usually go grocery shopping while Benjie is with my mom but she has a cold so he went with me today. Here we are.”

El smiled, already knowing which door was his, considering she lived next door, and quickly opened his door for him. He placed the baby carrier on the floor and she gently placed the groceries on the table, not so loud as to wake the sleeping baby up. 

“Seriously, thank you so much,” Mike said holding out his hand for her to shake, “I didn’t catch your name?”

“Oh, El Hopper, I actually live next door. I work 4 to midnight most days so that’s probably why we haven’t ran into each other yet,” she said laughing for no reason. Mike was making her feel giddy inside and he totally saw her blushing this time. 

“Pretty,” he mumbled more to himself, but El heard and now he was the one blushing. 

“Anyways, I should let you get unpacked, wouldn’t want to hold you up. I wrote my number on the whiteboard on the fridge, if you ever need anything or help with Benjie just let me know.”

She made her way back to the front door as Mike held it open for her, “Thanks again El, I will see you around neighbor,” he finished with a wink and El almost tripped over her own feet.

She made it safely to her door, a whole three steps away, and slowly closed it, sliding down the frame until she was sitting down with her arms around her knees. She let out a tiny giggle, chastising herself again because he was probably married or engaged or something! And finally went to shower away the sweat from her run. 

\---

A few nights later, around 12:45am, was when El heard it, not Mike’s soft singing but instead the high pitched wail of Benjie.  _ Odd _ El thought to herself, of course babies cried but Benjie, from what she could tell by living next door, wasn’t much of a crier. She turned her show back on, but paused it once again ten minutes later when she noticed Benjie’s cries had not let up. 

Before she could stop herself or think too much of it, she slipped on her sandals and made her way outside. She hesitated at first, hand held awkwardly pre- knock, but then promptly swallowed her fears. 

_ Knock knock knock! _

She waited, breath baited, until a minute later when Mike opened the door. He had bags under his eyes and he looked...apologetic?, “El, I am so sorry for keeping you up! I don’t know what’s wrong he-” but El cut him off with a quick squeeze to his bicep. 

“Mike, it’s ok! I’m not here to complain, I’m here to help, if you want me to of course.”

Relief filled Mike’s eyes and he pushed the door all the way open, allowing El to walk in. Her eyes immediately landed on Benjie, who was currently in a play pin crying his eyes out, little fists punching the air. 

She slowly walked over to him and got on her knees, “Do you mind if I pick him?”

“Not at all, maybe you will have better luck soothing him,” Mike said, rubbing at his tired eyes. 

El leaned over and gently pulled Benjie into her arms, cradling him into her neck. The cries ceased for a couple seconds before he hiccuped and began to wail once again. 

“Shh, shh, shh, it’s ok sweetheart. Mike, do you have a thermometer?” El said rubbing soothing circles on the babies back. 

Mike nodded his head yes and was back in seconds with a baby thermometer in his hand. He handed it to El and watched her in awe. 

“Oh, I never told you, I’m a nurse over at Hawkins Hospital, Benjie is safe with me,” El said with a small laugh. As she took his temperature, she pressed on his belly and monitored his heart rate for thirty seconds. Finally, the stick beeped and El took it out, “Just as I thought.”

“What is it? Is he ok? Should I take him to urgent care?” Mike asked slightly pulling at his hair in a nervous tic.

“Mike, breathe. He just has a chest cold, he will be ok. Give him a small dose of Baby Motrin and if his fever doesn’t go down in the next hour I know someone on call at the hospital.”

Mike nodded again, looking a little lost, and went to his kitchen cabinet to grab the medicine. He syphoned some into a dropper and carried it over to where Benjie was crying in El’s arms. 

“He won’t like the taste but you just have to do it,” El said seeing the panic in Mike’s eyes. He squared his shoulders, straightened up, and deposited the medicine into Benjie’s mouth. At first the baby stopped crying, shocked by the unknown taste in his mouth, but then coughed and went back to wailing. 

El gave him an encouraging smile and began to walk around the room, rocking Benjie back and forth while Mike rinsed out the dropper. When he came back, Benjie’s cries had turned to sniffles and his eyes were drooping heavily.

El held out Benjie to him, “He just needs his daddy now. Maybe you could...uh maybe you could-”

Mike’s eyebrows rose in confusion, not sure what El was trying to say so she took a deep breath and sighed, “Maybe you could sing to him, it always helps me at night.” Her face turned beet red and she knew she looked like a tomato. 

“Oh, you like my singing too. All you had to do was ask.” El looked up, surprised to see the teasing grin on his face.  _ Don’t flirt, don’t flirt, don’t do it!  _ Her brain all but screamed at her. 

“Hey Mike, this may be really forward of me, and you don’t have to answer I promise, but what happened to…?” but El trailed off, unable to finish the thought. 

However, Mike caught on, it was a normal reaction when seeing a guy with a baby, “Where is Benjie’s mother?”

El nodded and shyly hid her eyes behind her curtain of hair. “Ya, I just have never seen or heard her around before.”

“Benjie’s mom is out of the picture. She didn’t want to be a mother,” Mike said wryly. “We had only been dating a year, it was an accident to be honest. When I found out, I bought a ring and everything, thinking it was the right thing to do. Anyways, turns out she didn’t want anything to do with the baby and was going to give it up for adoption. I told her no that I would take the baby and she agreed, signed away all parental rights before he was even born.”

El could feel anger well inside her, she knew it wasn’t her place to judge, she didn’t know the whole story, but she couldn’t imagine leaving Benjie and Mike behind. 

“I’m so sorry Mike, that sounds awful...did you love her?” El didn’t mean to ask out loud but it slipped through her lips before she could stop herself. 

“At first, I thought I did. And then she became pregnant so I convinced myself to love her and marry her, despite being unsure of us as a couple. I guess her leaving was actually a blessing. There are times I wish Benjie had a mom but he has me, my family, and my friends. Believe me, he is spoiled rotten,” he said smiling, rubbing the soft tuft of hair on the babies head. 

El smiled affectionately, “I can tell you are an awesome dad Mike, and that’s all the matter. Plus, if you ever need anything I’m just next door. Let’s check his temperature again.”

El picked up the thermometer and gently stuck it under his armpit. Benjie stirred slightly but went right back to sleep in Mike’s arms. “Look at that Mike, his fever is already going down. He will be fine. Give him another dose every few hours and you can take him by tomorrow during my shift. I will make sure he is good to go.” 

Mike gently laid Benjie in his crib and walked El to her door, “Thank you so much El, I owe you big time. I’m still new to this whole dad thing.” 

El laughed and bent over to give him a small kiss on his cheek, opening her own front door, “Anytime Mike, goodnight.” 

“Hey El, wait-” Mike said before she could close her door all the way. 

“Yes,” El said, trying to control the excitement filling her veins, “I will go out with you. How’s this Friday?”

Mike laughed, “That sounds great, I will have Dustin, Will, and Lucas babysit. Goodnight El.” 

\---

_ 2 years later _

“El! Honey! You’re going to be late for work!” Mike called to his girlfriend who was still getting ready in the bathroom of their now shared apartment.

“Ya! Late, late, late!” Benjie chanted from where he was clutching Mike’s leg. 

El came running out of the bathroom, laughter filling the air. “I know, I know, I’m coming!” She stopped by the door, bending over to give Mike and then Benjie a quick kiss. 

“Hey dinner tonight at my parent’s 5pm, don’t be late,” Mike said teasingly as she put her shoes on. 

“I won’t, I promise! I love you guys!”

“Love you ma-ma,” Benjie gurgled, and El had to hold back the tears, it still made her heart full to hear those words from him. 

“Love you babe,” Mike said, dropping a kiss on her head. El smiled, made her way downstairs, and finally went to work. 

Little did El know that her life was about to change again. Little did she know Mike had something burning a whole in his pocket and was going to propose to her that night at dinner with all their family and friends around. 

\---

_ 1 year after the wedding _

“El, you’re doing great honey, you can do this,” Mike said, pushing back his wife’s sweaty hair as she prepared to push again. 

El grunted in frustration, maintaining a death grip on Mike’s fingers and pushed one more time. Tiny wails filled the room and Mike was wiping tears from his face, “El, love, you did it! I am so proud of you, oh she is so beautiful!” 

The doctors swiftly placed the baby girl in El’s arms while they stiched and cleaned her up. She looked down and tears filled her eyes, “Oh Mike, she is so beautiful, thank you.”

An hour later a small knock sounded at the door, “Hey guys, someone is eager to meet his little sister,” Hopper said carrying a bashful Benjie into the room. He placed him gently on the bed next to El, Mike, and the new addition to their little family. “Thanks Hop,” Mike said as the man turned to leave, “I will be back in a couple minutes, can’t keep me from my granddaughter for too long.” 

El rolled her eyes but Mike only laughed, “Hey buddy, ready to meet your little sister?” Benjie nodded his head yes, finally taking his thumb out of his mouth. 

“Benjie, meet your little sister, Alicia,” Mike said, allowing Benjie to pet her soft head. 

Benjie looked up, awe in his eyes, “Family?” he whispered.

“Family,” El and Mike answered back smiling. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Drop a comment or leave a kudos, it's like candy to a writer's soul ;)


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